Operation Calypso
by horacethepig
Summary: When warships go missing in the Caribbean, the IADC and the W.I.N. organize a young person's yachting trip to Trinidad and Tobago, as cover for the latter's Most Special Agent. Amongst the young Storybrooke folk & Amazon, however, is Ava/Gretel, who desires a more active role than sunbathing... The sequel to "Storybrooke and Amazons".
1. Chapter 1: The Missing Warships

Rights to Once Upon A Time is held by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. Those to Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, et al to DC Comics/Warner Bros. Joe 90 is owned by the estate of the late Gerry Anderson, Sylvia Anderson, ITC, etc. Rights to other franchises used are owned by: Marvel Comics; NOW Comics/Moonstone Books; the BBC; JK Rowling; Jim Butcher; Charles Addams; the estate of Peter O'Donnell; amongst others. This is a non-profit attempt to play with favourite franchises.

Thank you to my fellow author on this site Model Builder for his advice and encouragement. If you haven't read any of his stories yet, I strongly advise that you do so.

Late July 2015

"I don't see why they requested Henry and Ava to come with us," Emma Swan grumbled to Regina Mills.

"Well, Mom, maybe they want us to keep Athena or Joe company?" Henry Mills suggested brightly.

"Yes, Swan," Regina added, "Sometimes the simplest solution is correct."

"I hope not!" Ava Zimmer complained. "Nothing exciting has happened in at least a month!

"At least I get to spend time with my boyfriend. Kissing Henry is even better than practising MMA on Nicholas!"

"Thanks, I think!" Henry quipped.

Ava, once known in Fairy Tale Land as Gretel, had begun dating Henry in late March when the villainous Ra's Al Ghul had nearly started a war between Storybrooke and Themyscira, the island paradise in the Bermuda Triangle that was home to the Amazons. Luckily, with the help of a number of heroes and heroines, Ra's plan to force Henry to marry Princess Athena of Themyscira had failed. Ra's and his daughter Talia were currently residing at Belle Reve Super-Maximum Security Prison, alongside other menaces to humanity. As far as Regina and Emma were concerned, both father and daughter were lucky to still have beating hearts within their chests.

"Henry! Ava! Regina! Emma!" a familiar Dorset burr called. Joseph McClaine, recently turned twelve and having been the World Intelligence Network's Most Special Agent Joe 90 for about a quarter of his life, had been a close friend of Henry's ever since he and his adoptive father Ian McClaine (known universally as Mac) had been sent into Storybrooke almost exactly a year earlier to persuade the former Fairy Tale folk to join the rest of the world. Like Themyscira, Pellucidar and a number of other "hidden" places, Storybrooke now had semi-official (albeit secret) membership of the UN and full membership of the Council. This was a liaison between the W.I.N., SHADO, UNCLE, SHIELD, UNIT, Torchwood, IADC, the White Council and several others. It was also to the main conference at the Council's Above Top Secret headquarters that the party was proceeding.

"Good to see you again, Joe!" Henry replied, as the Storybrooke contingent took it in terms to hug him, Mac and Sam Loover. "Uncle Sam", as Joe invariably called him, was both Mac's best friend and Joe's W.I.N. handler.

"Do you have any idea what this is all about, Mac?" Emma asked.

It was Sam who responded. "Something to do with missing naval vessels from at least five different countries, or so Shane Weston told me this morning." Weston was the American Director of the W.I.N.'s London Branch. "I assume why Illya Kuryakin wanted you to bring Henry and Ava, and for Queen Hippolyta to bring Princess Athena to this meeting will become clear in due course."

"That is what I would like to know too!" Hippolyta responded. Her granddaughter Athena rushed to embrace Henry, Ava and Joe, whilst the Queen of the Amazons warmly greeted Regina.

"How's Robin?" Hippolyta asked Regina.

"Still well. And Heracles?"

"Still nothing but my sex toy! As, I've said before, thank you for teaching me that heart-rip technique."

Illya Kuryakin, President of the Council, looked around the conference room, before rising to his feet. With the preliminaries dealt with, it was time to make his announcement. "As you know, a number of military vessels have gone missing in the Caribbean, near Trinidad and Tobago. No S.O.S. has ever been received and the countries involved are neither all allied nor share a clear common enemy.

"No terrorist group has claimed responsibility. It could be SPECTRE, THRUSH or HYDRA, but it doesn't appear to fit the MO of any of those three organisations."

"I've never heard of any of them!" Regina muttered.

"The Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion is a top criminal organisation and backer of terrorist groups, whilst the Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjection of Humanity is bent on world domination. HYDRA are a right-wing terrorist organisation, started by a disaffected Nazi during the Second World War," Joe informed her.

"Yes, I remember working with Captain America, Nick Fury and the Howling Commandos to take them down in the 1940s," Diana reminisced.

"What does HYDRA stand for?" Emma asked.

"Nothing! It's named after the many-headed snakes from our native Realm," Diana explained. "'For every head you cut off, two more will rise'. As with the snakes' heads, so with their agents!"

"Well, I can see why SPECTRE and THRUSH don't use their full titles!" Regina quipped. "How the latter didn't realise, though, that it shared its name with both a songbird and a venereal disease is beyond me!"

"Actually, the songbird is their emblem. Having spent most of my life fighting THRUSH," Illya continued, "I can assure you that they are a genuine threat. I don't, however, get the feeling any of the three are involved here. The League of Assassins could be involved, but that doesn't seem right either. Ra's and Talia Al Ghul are still in Belle Reve.

"Mr Weston?"

Shane Weston stood up. "Thank you, Mr Chairman. We intend to send Agent Joe 90 on a cruise of that part of the Caribbean. With the B.I.G.R.A.T., he will be given the brain-patterns of a top salvage diver. We will provide a yacht for a group of young people, all learning sailing, as a cover. If Ms Mills and Queen Hippolyta could provide seven or eight additional young people, we can arrange for Mr Loover, Professor McClaine and Ms Prince and her spouses to go as additional chaperones.

"Please note that no civilian pleasure craft has yet been sunk. As long as the other youngsters don't get involved in the operation itself, they should be safe. If not, we can make no guarantees as to their safety. We will, however, take every step possible to rescue them."

"What will they be doing?" Regina asked.

Weston shrugged. "Scuba diving, sailing, visiting various islands, swimming, sun-bathing and the like, I presume. It will be a modern yacht, with motors, a proper galley, full toilet and washing facilities, even Wi-Fi and satellite television. Would you, Ms Swan, Mr Jones and your own paramour be able to come? Queen Hippolyta, can you come along as well?"

When they had agreed, Henry asked: "What's this mission called? Operation Calypso?"

"Nothing at the moment, Mr Mills, although that title will do for now," Illya commented. "Actually, I believe the calypso originated in Trinidad and Tobago, so it does fit."

He tried to ignore Mac and Joe singing "Oh, now carry me…" _sotto voce_.

"Actually," Henry continued "I was thinking Operation Sidewinder. Who would suspect a desert snake of referring to a nautical matter! After all, if they overhear us talking about it…"

"Who?" asked a baffled Weston.

"The bad guys, of course!"

"Err, Henry," Joe told him, "if we simply don't discuss our plans in public, there is no danger of us being overheard in the first place."

"What do you think?" Henry asked Joe, Ava and Athena as they left the conference room.

Joe shrugged. "For me, business as usual! As for you, I guess you get to see Ava in swimwear."

Ava grinned. "Henry in swim shorts? _That_ would be good to see!"

Back home in Culver Bay on the Dorset coast, Joe was sitting in the spinning "Rat Trap" that transferred the recorded brain-patterns of a top Special Boat Service veteran turned salvage diver to him. He would then be able to receive them remotely via the distinctive square-framed spectacles he wore on assignment.

Once completed, he was handed the spectacles and the briefcase with the secret compartments containing his W.I.N. identity badge, communicator, spare spectacles and automatic with silencer and spare clips. Operation Calypso was under way.

It was the following day. Diana Prince, her spouses Clark Kent and Lois Lane and her sister Donna Troy were sitting in Regina's house in Storybrooke, alongside Hippolyta, Athena and the latter's best friends Sappho and Chloe. The former was a blonde Amazon, of about the same age as Athena, whilst the latter was a red-head about Joe's age. Joe, Mac and Sam were there, as were Emma, Henry, Ava, Ava's twin brother Nicholas, their father Michael Tillman and a close friend Grace Jefferson.

"What about swimwear?" Emma asked.

"Show her the deep-sea costume, Auntie Di!" Athena begged. Diana grinned, stood up and one "quick spin change act" later was clad in a blue wetsuit.

"And for sun-bathing and the on-board pool?"

Athena shrugged. "We will go sky-clad, I suppose."

Regina, Michael, Mac and Sam all inhaled sharply, with Diana, Donna, Lois and Clark face-palming themselves. Joe turned a deep shade of crimson. A distinctly lecherous look came over Nicholas.

"Sky-clad?" asked a bemused Emma. "How can you be clad in the sky? It's nothing but fresh air!"

"Exactly," Hippolyta agreed.

 _"_ _Really…?"_ Emma asked stunned. "You do realise there will be males present on that boat?"

"Yes, I see your point," Hippolyta admitted. "Where can we get the appropriate attire?"

"Well," Nicholas suggested, "Why not go down to Granny's Diner and ask that really cute young waitress where she gets hers?"

"No!" his father and both Henry's Moms yelled in unison. "Ruby is a sweet girl," Emma clarified, "but her choice in swimwear is _rather minimal_!"

" _Minimal?_ " Regina erupted. "You would barely be less covered in your usual bathing attire, Hippolyta. Ruby Lucas' choice would be four small pieces of fabric held together by dental floss!"

"Athena and Sappho would look _hot_ in them!" Nicholas protested.

"I'm not dressing up in any such attire, Nicholas!" Athena protested. "Not with men other than Uncle Clark around anyway."

"Why him?"

"Put it this way, if Auntie Di and Auntie Lois were dressed in full formal gowns and the rest of us were sky-clad, they would still be the only two of us he would see!"

"Yes," Diana agreed, pecking first Clark and then Lois on the lips, "I really did strike lucky with these two!"

"We both got lucky with you as well, Themyscira!" Lois pointed out after pecking Clark's lips herself.

"The way I look at it," Clark commented, "I have the two most beautiful, affectionate, lovable women in the world as my wives. I love the two of them equally and they love me and each other equally. We just _work_!"

"You will definitely be _getting_ lucky, Smallville!"

"Anyway, Swan, Mary Margaret and I can take Hippolyta and the girls swimwear shopping," Regina decided. "David and Michael can take the Storybrooke boys. I'm sure Mac can do any for Joe."

"Gee," Nicholas complained "they'll be in those Islamic all-covering costumes!"

"We will buy one-pieces for the beaches and sea and bikinis for the deck and pool," Emma assured him. "No really skimpy ones, though! You will have some smaller swim shorts, but nothing too short or tight!"

"It might be a good idea to get some light, Summer clothes as well," Diana noted. "It can get pretty hot in July around Trinidad and Tobago."

"Again, nothing too revealing," Regina added hastily.

"Great!" Lois complained. "After staying in Themyscira so much recently, I thought I would never have to worry about tan lines again! Still, a free vacation is a free vacation."

"By the way, Henry, this is for you." Joe handed his friend a watch identical to his own. "Knowing you and your Storybrooke friends tend to get into trouble, Dad asked MI6's Quartermaster Division, or Q-Branch, to have this made for you. Push here and a black light flashes on the dial, signifying a distress signal has been sent. A yellow light should briefly replace it, indicating the signal has been received, before a continuous white light indicates it is now functioning as an accurate homing device. It also has a bug-detector, diamond-encrusted circular saw blade, a torchlight and a laser-cutter concealed inside. In addition, it still tells the time and date! Finally, it is waterproof to a depth of three miles and highly shockproof.

"I can show you how to use the other functions later. What do you think?"

"Thank you, Joe!" Henry beamed. "This might save my life some day!"

The newly-completed yacht _Nike_ was purpose-built by MI6's Q-Branch for the W.I.N. It had a carport big enough to hold both Mac's Jet Air Car and Diana's Invisible Jet. The swimming pool could slide into the deck to allow VTOL for both vehicles. It also had a disguised underwater outer airlock door and concealed external weapons systems. There was even the _Poseidon_ , a mini-sub that could be launched via a larger second disguised underwater airlock system. That also had an array of hidden defence functions. Joe, Nicholas and Henry would be sharing a cabin and en suite shower room, complete with toilet and basin. Ava and Grace would be sharing a second suite and Athena, Sappho and Chloe a third. Mac and Sam were sharing a fourth, with Emma, Regina and Donna berthed with their respective boyfriends Robin, Killian and Roy Harper. Hippolyta would have Heracles along as her "personal vibrator". Needless to say, Diana was sharing with her husband and wife.

Steve Trevor IV, the Director of the Inter-Agency Defence Command, was waiting by the dockside for Diana, his Senior Caseworker. He handed her the dog-like robot named Rover II, before embracing her and her spouses.

"Good luck, Diana!" he said. "There's a secure link with IADC Headquarters. Obviously, Rover can satellite link with Ira. I can arrange support, should you need it."

"Thank you, Steve! I've arranged secure communications with others, should they be needed, too!"

"So if I hear about a bat-themed plane flying towards the Caribbean…?"

"He is a close friend of ours, Steve!"

Regina was saying to Mary Margaret and David: "Right, Charmings, you are in charge of Storybrooke while I am gone. Please resist the temptation to do anything too idiotic!"

 _"_ _Seriously…?"_ the former Snow White muttered in exasperation, before she and her husband said farewell to their daughter and grandson. Henry handed his uncle back to his grandparents.

Whilst Killian Jones inspected the rigging, Mac and Diana led Regina and Emma to the control room.

"What are your experiences of controlling a yacht?" Mac asked.

"Sailing one, some! Steering one using some controls straight out of NASA, none!" Emma replied.

"Well, we can give you a primer later," Diana decided. She reached under the main dashboard and flicked a hidden switch. A number of concealed control panels were revealed. "Weapons systems are controlled from here, the airlocks from there and that one allows us to communicate securely with others." She pressed a button. "Wonder Woman calling Batman, repeat…"

"I heard you, Diana!" the familiar, deep voice growled over the speaker. "Is Clark with you?"

"No, just Mac, Regina Mills and Emma Swan."

"Good to hear your voice again, Batman," Mac commented.

"And yours, professor."

"Is the Batplane ready for a flight to the Caribbean?" Diana asked.

"What do you think?"

"I only asked to confirm! Of course _you_ would be ready!

"SHIELD have promised support, if necessary, with Steve, Clint and Natasha on stand-by. Zee, Harry and Wednesday have been placed at our disposal, too."

"Good!" growled her old friend. "Batman over and out!"

"He's always highly talkative, then?" Emma asked rhetorically.

The Storybrooke folk and the Amazons stood on the main deck, as Killian cast off and Mac started the engines. They waved goodbye to their friends on shore.

"Well, three weeks or so of sunbathing, swimming and visiting exotic islands," Emma commented. "Not to mention learning motor-yachting and scuba diving! Should be fun!"

"Yeah," Ava agreed. "Hopefully, we get to beat up some bad guys as well!"

"We're not supposed to get involved in the mission itself, sis!" Nicholas protested.

Ava glared at her brother. _Where's your sense of adventure?_


	2. Chapter 2: A Life on the Ocean Wave

It was a couple of days later. Whilst she was not fighting bad guys, Ava thought sharing kisses with Henry was the next best thing. She was in a reasonably conservative light blue bikini and Henry was in red swim shorts. They were on a sun lounger, getting some sunbathing done before diving into the pool for a swim.

Regina was snuggled up to Robin on another sunbed. In the pool already, Joe was practising free-diving. Chloe, like many Amazons, was an expert in the art and was giving him some tips. Having had a crush on the boy spy since they had first met on a stealth training course near Brockenhurst over a year before, she was hoping she could persuade him to ask her on a date. He was a good friend and offered the tomboyish Amazon a life of action and adventure.

Diana, Lois and Clark were standing on the top deck, looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. "Let's go and join our friends for a swim," the Amazon suggested.

"I'd prefer going to our suite for some quality alone time!" Lois countered.

"There's plenty of time for that later, Lois," Clark replied. "Besides, you enjoy seeing a wet Diana as much as I do!"

They descended to the main deck, shed their sarongs and bathrobe and dived into the pool. Donna and Roy Harper, now going by Arsenal and formerly the Green Arrow's long-term sidekick Speedy, were already in. Joe had finished his free-diving and had returned to his suite to change. By this time, Henry and Ava were swimming, alongside Athena, Sappho and Grace. Nicholas was sitting on the poolside, ogling the Amazons.

"Nicholas seems to _really like_ you and Sappho," Ava noted.

"Sappho? _No chance there!_ Me? If he keeps to _staring_ , no problem. I'm not bad-looking and if he wishes to admire my physique, that's OK. If he tries to _act_ according to his libido, though, he'll learn _exactly_ why I'm rated one of the most promising young warriors on Themyscira."

"Should I buy a long black dress?"

"Whatever for?"

"To wear for my brother's funeral!"

The next day, Diana and Joe were taking the others scuba diving. Diana, Athena, Sappho and Chloe were all in blue wetsuits, with Joe and the Storybrooke children in black.

Chloe and Joe were enjoying the deep sea flora and fauna, with her fellow young Amazons, who were also experienced divers, alongside them. Diana was giving the four Storybrooke youngsters a primer on breathing and communicating underwater.

"That was fun!" Ava exulted, after they had returned to the boat, showered and changed. "We must be arriving in the Caribbean shortly?"

"It is a fair way from Maine to Trinidad and Tobago, Ava," Joe told her.

"By the way, Henry," Joe produced two lengths of metal, before he asked Henry to take off his watch. "Press here on the buckle," Henry did so and saw the dial-casing lift and spin rapidly, "Then place it against this bar." The steel was sliced in half in a few seconds. "Now press here," a laser beam from the other side of the casing cut through the other bar just as quickly. "Touch there," the dial lit up, but not just the usual backlight, but a flashlight beam. "Finally, twist here," a green light shone on the dial, "If there were bugs present, it would have flashed red."

"A Swiss Army watch!" Emma quipped. "I don't suppose it can detect the other type of bugs?" Joe shook his head. "What a pity!"

"Thanks, Joe!" Henry said. "I'm sure this will be _really_ useful!"

Finally, they arrived off the Venezuelan coast not far from the two main islands of the group, Trinidad and Tobago themselves. Diana was standing on the foredeck, wearing a white bikini and a red sarong, an identically clad Lois snuggled up on one side and Clark in blue swim shorts and a white bathrobe on the other.

"Well, I guess this is where you two start being superheroes again," Lois commented.

"Not yet, Lois!" Clark replied. "There is a cruiser due in port today. We will be keeping an eye on it, but a subtler one than Superman and Wonder Woman. Rover?"

The dog-like robot Rover II piped up in its usual high-pitched tones: "The Green Hornet's aide has given the W.I.N. a version of the aerial scout they use for the Hornet Scanner in the Black Beauty. SHIELD has adapted it with their cloaking technology. They provided the same to the Poseidon, this vessel's submersible. Sam Loover and Joseph McClaine will be on the _Poseidon_ and the Scout will be piloted remotely by Professor McClaine. This vessel will be in another part of the sea entirely."

Ava was wrapped in Henry's arms on their usual pool-side lounger, with her lips firmly locked together with his. Athena was next to them chatting to Joe and Chloe. Nicholas, as always, had his eyes fixed on the Amazon's bikini-clad figure. Whilst Athena really did have no problem with him looking (it was good to know her developing curves, long legs, pretty face and long raven locks were noticed, albeit by someone she had no interest in personally), his attempts at flirtation were getting tiresome. If it wasn't her Nicholas was trying to chat up, it was Sappho. It was amazing to Athena that the boy had _not_ noticed Sappho's, well, _Sapphic tendencies_. Her friend was cheerfully sunbathing in her own bikini and clearly chatting up Grace, who was wearing a sporty one-piece. As lesbianism was common on Themyscira (unsurprisingly, given the lack of alternatives), no Amazon had any prejudice against it. Grace Jefferson was a sweet girl and would make a good life-partner for Sappho.

Nicholas had produced some sun-tan lotion. "Do you want me to rub some of this into your back, your highness?"

"No thank you, Nicholas!"

He put some of the ointment onto his hands and, despite her clear response, moved towards Athena. "You may wish to unfasten your bikini top when I rub your back."

"I said no thank you, Nicholas!"

"Aw, come on…" Nicholas finished as Athena's fist met his face as he moved in to rub her back. As he collapsed to the deck, the Amazon princess got up and kicked him between the legs. "No means _no_!"

Ava sighed, still in Henry's embrace, although their kiss had broken. _I might be needing to buy that black dress after all._

The three young Amazons were in their cabin, getting ready for dinner. "I see what your Auntie Lois means about tan lines," Sappho noted. "Our skin will look odd back home!"

Athena chuckled. "Well, at least we don't have Henry's back as well as a bikini top blocking the sun like Ava does.

"How are you and Grace getting along?"

Sappho smiled. " _Very well!_ We shared our first two kisses earlier. Her father knows that she prefers females and just wants her to meet the right girl. She says that I am _the One_ for her and she wants to marry me in a few years. I know our culture doesn't place as much emphasis on True Love as theirs does, but I just _know_ she's right."

"That's great!" Athena turned to Chloe. "Has Joe _really noticed_ you yet?"

"He's invited me to join him and Sam Loover in the Poseidon later. For a twelve-year-old spy, that's almost a date!"

"Joe is a great boy," Ava agreed, "but rather clueless around girls."

"He sees Modesty Blaise do that 'Nailer' technique of hers all the time," Sappho commented, referring to Joe's long-term mentor and one of his numerous honorary "aunts" and "uncles". The thief-turned-spy's technique in question involved going topless to distract her foes. "So you wouldn't have thought hearing that we may be going sky-clad on the boat would have caused him to blush. It did!"

Once they had finished laughing, Athena sighed. "I hope my One True Love comes along soon."

"He or she will, I'm sure," Chloe reassured her. "Maybe you will find one of each like your Auntie Di!"

"Maybe, maybe not!" Athena responded brightly. "I intend to have fun finding out. It won't be our friend Nicholas!"

"After the way you responded to his sun-lotion ploy earlier?" Sappho noted. "He'll have a black eye and an icepack between his legs! If that doesn't put him off…"

At dinner, Athena saw that the skin around Nicholas' left eye was indeed bruised. He was also walking rather gingerly. Hippolyta had seen the incident from the pool and had decided her granddaughter had reacted appropriately. Regina and Emma had not been impressed by Nicholas' behaviour, but felt the matter had been dealt with.

"The cruiser should be passing through shortly," Diana noted. "We will launch the scout after dinner."

"Scout?" Emma asked.

"A remote-controlled aerial drone, with full cloaking ability," Joe explained. "It should allow us to see what happens to the HMS Hornblower XVI. Uncle Sam, Chloe and me will be following underwater in the cloaked _Poseidon_."

"What will we be doing?" Henry asked.

"Maintaining our cover, by being seen on the _Nike_ ," Sam said.

"Still not exciting!" Ava complained.

"Still not dangerous!" Regina retorted. "I want you to marry Henry and have my grandchildren. You can't do either post mortem!"

"Thank you!" Ava beamed. "Henry and I are planning on marrying in about five or six years' time. Is that too soon?"

"If we can arrange a royal wedding in three-and-a-half days while fighting a war for part of that time…"

The _Poseidon_ was entered via an air-lock hatch hidden under a passage connecting the carport with the cargo hold. Joe, Chloe and Sam had entered via the mini-sub's airlock, sealed the inner door and activated the controls. "We're ready for launch, Diana," Joe radioed to the _Nike_ 's control room.

"Right, Joe," Diana's voice sounded over the loudspeaker, "Airlock hatch sealed. Ready to open hatch and flood chamber." A section of the underside of the vessel lowered and slid. "All systems active on the _Poseidon_?" When informed that this was indeed the case, she activated the control to release the docking clamps. Sam steered the submarine through the outer airlock door.

"Cloak activated!" Joe exclaimed as he activated a sub-aquatic version of the SHIELD cloaking device. In addition to invisibility, reduction in engine noise and jamming radar and thermal imagery detection, it also concealed the craft from sonar.

Above them, the hatch closed and the water pumped out of the airlock.

Up in the _Nike_ 's control room, Diana turned to Mac. "The _Poseidon_ has been launched safely. Time to launch the Scout."

"Roger that, Diana," Mac affirmed as he pressed a button on the relevant control panel. On the foredeck, a section of decking dropped and slid back. A few more controls activated later and a small, remote-controlled helicopter emerged. As it flew into the air, its own cloak was activated and it disappeared from sight.

Mac remotely piloted the craft in the direction of the British cruiser. Sam and Joe steered the _Poseidon_ in the same direction underwater.

"Well, they get to have all the fun!" Ava grumbled good-naturedly. "I get stuck here with my twin!"

By the time Nicholas had finished protesting, she and Henry were onto their fourth kiss. Her brother sighed and turned to Athena. "I'm sorry about earlier. Can we try again?"

"Try _what_ again?"

"Me asking you to be my girlfriend!"

"Two points. One: you didn't ask me before. Two: I don't want to be your girlfriend."

"Well, if you let me kiss you…"

One prolonged demonstration of pankration later and Nicholas decided to retreat to his suite. _Athena can be as scary as my sister…_

Emma turned to Regina and Hippolyta. "Shouldn't we intervene?"

"Either that or get some popcorn!" Regina quipped in response.

"My granddaughter defended her honour with pride!" Hippolyta boasted.

"Well, let's hope Nicholas learnt his lesson this time," Regina noted. "Otherwise, I'll have to tell Michael his son was buried at sea!"

In the control room, Mac spotted something on the scanner. "Diana, the scouts picking something up near to the _Hornblower_."

Diana came over to the screen, Lois and Clark hot on her heels. "Seems to be a drone of some sort, which is releasing something onto the ship!"

Mac fiddled with the controls for the scout. "It seems to be an odourless, colourless gas, almost instantly fatal to humans. The radial thermal imaging indicates the body heat of the crewmembers is almost zero.

"Sam, Joe, respond!"

"There's not much we can do, Dad," Joe noted. "By the time we could get involved, the poison had worked. Hang on – some divers and a mini-sub have turned up. They seem to be – well, _drilling_ holes into the ship. It is sinking fast."

As the scout and the _Poseidon_ continued their watch, the ship sank to the ocean floor. One of the divers went into the wreck and emerged with something. Then they used some cable and their own mini-sub to camouflage the hull.

The cloaked submarine followed the villains, until they vanished through an airlock door disguised as part of a rock face. "There must be a cave network behind it."

"Maybe we should call Batman?" Joe quipped.

"Well, let's take a look at that wreck," Sam announced. "You can use the deep-sea suits…"

"Fancy a swim, Joe?" Chloe asked as they moved towards the inner airlock door.


	3. Chapter 3: High Adventure

As they were some distance below the surface, Joe and Chloe selected the heavier diving gear and specialist air-tanks for deep-sea work. Once changed, they entered the airlock, flooded it, opened the exit hatch and swam out.

They cut the camouflage netting and entered the wreck and swam through the vessel, finding waterlogged equipment and the corpses of the unfortunate crew. Other than that, there was little to find.

"The guidance computer for the surface-to-air missiles is missing," Joe noted. "Odd, as there were no similar systems on a couple of the other missing ships. Something weird is going on here!"

As they were leaving, the wreck started to vibrate with increasing vehemence. Joe grabbed Chloe's hand and they swam for the exit.

Disaster struck! Part of the ceiling collapsed, trapping Chloe's right leg. With access to the memories and abilities of a top salvage diver, the boy spy was able to ensure no serious injury had been sustained. The fact was, however, he was not strong enough to lift the rubble. He did, however, have a friend who was.

"Diana!" he yelled into the radio in his diving helmet, "Please send Clark asap."

On board the _Nike_ , Clark hastily changed into his Superman costume, removed his spectacles and changed his hairstyle. That done, he entered the second airlock chamber, the one for divers. Once the hidden door had closed behind him and the inner airlock door had sealed shut, the place was flooded and the outer door opened. He shot through the water at top speed.

Joe was aware of another presence in the boat. A tiger shark had spotted the tear in the net and had come to feast on the corpses. It moved towards the trapped Chloe. She was helpless against the 12-foot long apex predator.

Pulling a spear gun from his shoulder, Joe took aim and fired at the shark. The spear penetrated its left eye and the point embedded itself in the brain. Whilst the boy spy was loath to kill a member of a critically endangered species, they had been known to attack humans.

Where was Superman? Neither he nor Chloe had that much air left. Needless to say, the Kryptonian (able to survive in outer space and not reliant on air to live) reached the wreck surprisingly quickly. Finding Chloe, a couple of seconds of clearance work was enough time to free her. With Joe's help, Clark was able to lead the girl back to the cloaked _Poseidon_ and safety. The girl was given basic first aid as Sam steered the submarine back towards the _Nike_.

"There! No serious injuries sustained," Mac assured Chloe in the _Nike_ 's sickbay. Whilst he was not a medic, he had picked up a number of skills from having both his adopted son and his best friend in the W.I.N.

"Thank you, professor," Chloe said. Her ankle was sprained, but the heavy diving suit had protected her from serious injury. "Thank you, Prince Clark. You too, Mr Loover. Oh, and Joe…" She hobbled up to the boy and pecked him on the lips. "Thank you."

Joe blushed, then beamed. "No thanks necessary, Chloe. I'm just glad you are OK." He thought for a moment. "There is a folk festival coming up not far from Culver Bay. Would you like to stay with us for a few days whilst it's on? I mean…?"

"Sure, Joe!" She blinked. "Wait, did you just ask me out on a date?"

"Well, technically a series of dates, but…" He was stopped by Chloe pecking his lips again. "I could get used to this. Now I'm kind of seeing why Henry and Ava keep talking about this True Love thing."

"It took you long enough!" his father commented. "I thought you would never see that Chloe had a crush on you ever since you first met her."

"She did?" Joe turned to Chloe. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

"I'll need to be convinced." This time it was her turn to have her lips pecked. "Yes!"

Everyone was delighted to learn that Chloe had bagged her boy spy.

"Thank you for saving young Chloe, Joe," Hippolyta thanked him. "You'll make a fine husband for her in due course. Won't she, Heracles?"

Her fellow demi-god had been "summoned" out of her cabin for once. "Yes, your majesty. Brains better than brawn. Me Heracles know that now!"

"You do know Lord Greystoke speaks in a cultured English accent, don't you?" Joe asked the Amazon Queen.

"He does," she agreed, "but making Heracles speak like the Lord of the Apes is portrayed as doing in the old movies adds to the fun!

"Now, I have a need for his main function these days. Goodnight, Joe. Come, my toy!"

"Coming, your Majesty! Me nothing but sex toy, you great queen!"

"You won't ever do that to me, will you?" Robin asked Regina.

"Not if you don't rape me, darling!"

Robin kissed her passionately. "Why? I like you willing!"

"Well, my love, take me to our cabin and I will show you just how _willing_ I can be!"

"Well," Sam announced over a light breakfast the following day, "We need to visit Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago. Partly for replacing the used food and partly because we believe the cave system the culprits are using to be almost directly underneath. They must be based in the area."

"Dad and I will stay behind to look after the boat and even more importantly Chloe," Joe announced. He was rewarded with a chaste kiss.

"Sappho, would you like to…?" Nicholas stopped as the Amazon pulled Grace in for a long, deep kiss. "You are…"

"A girl named Sappho of Greek descent from an island of women turning out to be a lesbian. What were the odds?" Ava quipped. She turned to her brother. "You know, it was kind of obvious that she and Grace were flirting."

"Flirting? No, Sappho is my One True Love!" Grace proclaimed proudly. "We are planning to marry in due course."

"Well," Nicholas turned to Athena, "since we are the only unattached youngsters on the boat, _now_ will you be my girlfriend?"

"Nicholas, if we were the last youngsters _on Earth_ , I _still_ wouldn't go out with you. Now, leave me alone!"

As Athena had a warlike look on her face, Nicholas decided not to push the issue further.

Port of Spain was a vibrant city. A bustling port city, the air was full of calypso rhythms. A number of children were playing street cricket. Since Sam was the only fan of the sport present (Mac and Joe being back on the _Nike_ ), he decided to leave a tour of the Queen's Park Oval for another occasion, as with a visit to the Emperor Valley Zoo. The main purpose of the day was shopping. In addition, the couples wanted to go on dates.

"If we take Nicholas to lunch, will you and Henry take Athena?" Grace asked Ava. "We can swap later, but I think we should keep them apart."

"OK!" her friend agreed. "You do realise he'll be pestering you for a three-way, right?"

"Probably not. In his own way, he believes in True Love. He always seems to be after it, even when the girl isn't interested. I don't think he would try to make a move on Sappho now that he knows that she's my girlfriend, though. He is a Fairy Tale Boy, after all!"

"True. Could you imagine what he would be like if he hailed from the Land Without Colour?"

The Diner they found for lunch, once the main shopping had been completed, was not vastly different to the ones back home. The burgers were actually made from lumps of meat and not processed. These were covered in a "jerk" barbecue sauce that was hot and spicy.

"I wouldn't swap the burger and fries at Granny's for this, but a change is good sometimes," Henry concluded. He was in jean shorts and a T-shirt, as were Ava and Athena. Having the prettiest girl in the room (but then when wasn't Ava the most gorgeous female present?) and another budding beauty as his companions was a pleasure.

"Yeah," Ava said. "Our backpacks are heavy, though. Emma," she said, going over to the table where Emma and Killian were enjoying a romantic lunch date, "Would you and Captain Jones look after our bags for an hour or so, please?"

"Sure," Emma agreed.

The three teenagers walked out into the street. All the locals had beaming smiles, with Caribbean music playing and more impromptu games of cricket. They seemed to be having fun, although as Joe was looking after Chloe, they could not ask him if the players were any good.

Mac was busy examining geophysical surveys of the Port of Spain area. He was hoping to find possible locations around the cave system where the culprits' hideout might be based.

"Any luck, Dad?" Joe asked, bringing him a plate of roast beef and horseradish sauce sandwiches.

"Thank you Joe! Not really. There are some possible locations, but nothing definite yet. We may need to go back to the wreck at some point."

"Actually, Dad, I've a better idea. Maybe we can contact Aquaman? The Atlanteans would be better suited for searching for clues down there. Besides, he can command the sharks to stay away!"

"In the meantime, I haven't kissed Chloe for at least twenty minutes. I'll be back later, Dad."

After he left, Mac stared incredulously at the door. _This is the boy who was completely clueless around girls this time yesterday?! Chloe is the best thing that has ever happened to him._

Nicholas had indeed refrained from flirting with Sappho. As a Fairy Tale character, he was genetically predisposed to look for True Love rather than Meaningless Sex and _never_ to make a move for another's True Love. True, Enchanted Forest people could have Meaningless Sex (Regina had any number of notches on her bedposts, as did Cora before her), but it was not in their nature to seek such things.

Actually, treated as a friend only, Sappho proved to be good company. She had a somewhat dry sense of humour, an amiable manner and was proving a fun dining companion. In addition, Nicholas was fond of Grace and was glad that she had found her True Love.

Regina was with Robin, looking for rings. He had asked her to marry him the night before and had been accepted immediately. Since Henry and Emma both liked Robin, there was unlikely to be any objections to her betrothal. For the first time since her mother had murdered Daniel, she felt truly happy. Maybe that curse had finally ended?

Clark, Diana, Lois, Donna and Roy were visiting the local planning department, looking for buildings above the cave network that might be linked to the disappearing warships.

"We would be better served going after the local underworld," Roy complained. "They may know of a new gang in town."

"I did receive a list of potential leads," Diana noted, "from a Detective Inspector Goodman, formerly of the London Metropolitan Police and now working for the police on the island of Saint Marie. Apparently, one of his officers seems to know every small-time crook or conman in the Caribbean.

"Perhaps Superman, Wonder Woman Troia and Arsenal could _persuade_ the local fences and fixers to tell us something? An excellent suggestion, Roy. Thank you."

Henry, Ava and Athena were enjoying a stroll when a man carrying a laptop bag slipped on some common street litter. Whilst Henry and Athena helped him to his feet, Ava picked up the bag. As she handed it to him, she saw circuit board showing signs of severe water damage inside, rather than the expected laptop.

Once he had thanked them and continued on his way, Ava grabbed hold of her boyfriend and their Amazon friend and led them after him.

"He's got water-damaged computer parts in that bag. Didn't Joe say computer equipment was missing from that ship? We may be able to follow him to their lair."

Regina and Robin entered the Diner. "Emma, where's Henry? We have some good news to share!"

"He went off somewhere with Ava and Athena," Emma replied. "Ava asked us to look after their bags for an hour or so. They must have been gone at least that long now. I'll call them."

She rang Henry's cell phone number. His ringtone sounded from his backpack. It transpired Ava and Athena had also left their cell phones behind.

"Damn! Why didn't I ask if they had their cell phones with them?"

"Don't blame yourself, Swan!" Regina snapped. "This must be the first time in months Henry has gone anywhere without it.

"Now, we had better contact the others."

Since Hippolyta, Killian, Nicholas, Sappho and Grace were all in the Diner, Regina only had to ring Diana in the planning department and Joe on the _Nike_. Neither knew where the three missing teenagers were.

Once Joe had finished talking to Regina, he turned to Mac and Chloe. "Henry, Ava and Athena have gone off without their mobiles. No-one has seen them in a couple of hours."

He disappeared into the control room, flicked the hidden switch and went to the panel that allowed secure communications with various friends. Pressing a button with a picture of a bat in flight on it, he began to say "Joe 90 calling Batman, I repeat…"

"I heard you, Joe!" came the expected growl.

"Henry Mills, Ava Zimmer and Princess Athena have gone missing, Batman."

"I'll be with you in a few hours. The Batplane is on standby and I've been working from home. Both Catwoman and Nightwing will be coming with me.

"Batman over and out!"

Joe pressed a button with a SHIELD emblem on it. "Joe 90 calling the Black Widow…" He repeated his news, before contacting Aquaman, Harry Potter, Wednesday Addams, Zatanna Zatara and Kate Stewart. The latter promised she would contact a certain "mutual friend", whilst the others all said they would come.

Within minutes, portkeys linked to a magic mirror in the passageway leading to the main deck had brought Harry and the two witches on board. Meanwhile, Clint Barton was at the controls of a SHIELD Jumper taking off from a base in the Caribbean, with Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff aboard. In the Batcave, Batman and his allies were taking the monorail to the "hanger" cave for the Batplane and Batcopter. Aquaman was leading a party of Atlanteans towards Trinidad. Finally, something that appeared to be a blue 1960s police box was materialising in the control room itself.

Help was at hand.

The three missing teenagers had followed their suspect to a disused manufacturing plant. He had gone inside.

As they prepared to look for an entrance they could use, Henry commented, "We've been gone some time and none of us have our cell phones. Won't my Moms and Athena's grandmother, aunts and uncle be worried about us by now?"

"Where's your sense of adventure, Henry?" Ava demanded. "We can tell everyone we know where the criminals are based. Let's have a look inside!"

Henry and Athena looked at each other bemusedly. They both felt that this could prove to be a _very bad idea_ indeed.


	4. Chapter 4: Caught Snooping!

As Regina, Emma and the others boarded the _Nike_ , they were greeted by Harry, Wednesday, Zee and the Doctor, as well as Mac, Joe and Chloe. Diana and her party arrived shortly afterwards.

"The Batplane, a SHIELD Jumper and a squadron of Atlanteans are on their way!" Joe informed Regina.

She nodded. "Thank you Joe! I wish I could say it was good to see everyone again, but…" The woman once feared as the Evil Queen burst into tears. As Robin comforted her, Hippolyta and Emma both broke down themselves. Killian drew Emma close, whilst Donna embraced her mother tightly.

The Doctor hastily started looking through his cards. Nothing seemed appropriate. _Perhaps I should have more prepared?_

Ava found a side door open, unlocked and unguarded. "Come on," she pleaded, "This is our chance for a real adventure!"

"I have a bad feeling about this," Henry grumbled.

Still, they entered. They found themselves in a long passageway. Ava led them in the direction of a voice yelling instructions. As they peered from an ajar door, they saw men and women working at computer terminals.

"With the information retrieved from the warships' computer terminals, we can blackmail the various governments into paying us billions to return their secrets," the voice continued.

Ava delightedly led Henry and Athena into another side passage. "Let's find out more!"

Unfortunately, her left leg blocked an infra-red beam fired from one wall from hitting the sensor on the other. A harsh alarm sounded. Armed men rushed into the corridor.

Ava's blood was stirred. Here was a _real fight_! With a series of kicks, strikes and punches, she was sending men flying. Both Athena and Henry joined in.

Once again, Ava was too impetuous for her own good. As they began to run from their downed foes, a man opened a secret panel in the wall and flicked a switch. A steel grill descended instantly from the ceiling cutting off their retreat. By this time, the men were getting up and pointing their guns at the three teens.

"Put your hands in the air!" a tall, stout man ordered.

Ava and Ava reluctantly did so. Henry, kneeling in front of the grill, saw that he was still wearing the watch Joe had given him. Placing his hands down, apparently to help himself stand up, he pressed the emergency distress signal button. As he got up and raised his arms, he saw the black light be replaced in turn by the yellow and continuous white ones. _Someone must have seen the distress signal and now the homing device is active. I hope help arrives soon._

"Frisk them, tie their hands behind their backs and take them to the main hall," the same man, presumably the leader, ordered. "Make sure you tie the blonde _real tight_."

As the three prisoners were forced against the wall and patted down, Henry was delighted that his captor didn't seem to notice the light on his watch. Once that was completed, their arms were drawn behind them and their wrists tied together with heavy rope. From the look on his girlfriend's face, the rope around her wrists was indeed knotted cruelly tight.

The villains led their captives back to the main hall, where they were forcibly seated on a wooden bench. More heavy rope was used to bind their ankles together, once again with poor Ava tied very tightly indeed.

"Now," the leader ordered, "we need to find a way to _dispose_ of our three little problems here!"

"Just you wait," Ava declared angrily, "until his Moms and her Aunts and Uncle get here. Then you shall be sorry!"

"There were no cell phones found on you. How will they know where you are?

"Now one more word and you and your friends will be gagged!"

Joe answered a call over the ship's secure communication away.

"Joe," Shane Weston announced, "We have received a distress signal from Henry's watch. Per the homing device, he is in a disused manufacturing plant directly on top of part of the cave system the as yet unidentified wreckers are using."

"Do we know if they are OK?" Emma asked frantically.

"Sadly, no!" Weston replied softly. "One of them, most likely Henry, must have activated the distress signal about quarter of an hour ago, so at least one of them was alive and conscious then."

"Thank you, Mr Weston," Joe replied. "Now we have a location, we can get ready to move!"

By this time, there was a cloaked SHIELD Jumper on the rear deck. The Batplane was approaching. Aquaman had come aboard with his brigade in the waters beneath.

Battle plans were being formulated.

"Joe is to be the only youngster involved in the main part of the rescue mission," Sam stated firmly. "No disrespect, but we do have a duty of care to your families. Mac, Lois and Killian, if you can guard the ship. Be on battle stations at all times!"

Aquaman nodded. "I'll use my Atlantean forces to attack the underwater entrance. My telepathy will allow me to summon help from any sea creatures around."

"There's room in the Jumper for Arsenal and Regina and her boyfriend," Hawkeye said.

"Fiancé," Regina corrected automatically. She raised her finger to show her engagement ring.

"So that was your announcement!" Emma said, hugging her friend. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you Emma!"

"If Emma takes the Jet Air Car, _mon vieux_ ," Wednesday was asking the Doctor, "Can you take Zee, Harry, Hippolyta and me aboard the Tardis?"

"The _what_?" asked a bemused Killian.

 _"_ _Tardis! TARDIS! Time and Relative Dimensions in Space! My ship!"_ The Doctor's strong Glaswegian accent had become thicker than usual in his vehemence. "Even a pudding brain should understand that, Mr Jones!"

"It would be a tight fit…" Emma began, stopped by the Doctor snapping his fingers to open the doors. As his ship opened, he led them inside. "OK, is it just me or is it bigger on the inside than the outside?"

"Dimensional transcendence. Elemental physics! Well, simple for a Time Lord like me. For pudding brains, I suspect it isn't. Be a Time Lord and not an idiot!"

"And I thought Batman was bad!" Killian muttered.

"I can hear you, Captain!" growled the familiar voice over the communication array.

"You were meant to, matey!"

"We can use magic to do this," Wednesday said. "Create extra space inside, I mean. We couldn't do the science bit without heavy shielding on either or both sides."

The Doctor sighed. "Mixing magic and technology can often be dangerous and/or irritating. Did your father ever tell you about that young numpty who decided to build a robot using both technology and magic, Zatanna? The robot that kept calling people "fruit bat", "clever clogs" and so on? It regularly caused chaos before more or less correcting it with magic?"

Zee shuddered. "I had always assumed that he was joking…"

The party was ready to leave. Lois pulled Superman and Wonder Woman in for the most passionate kisses they had ever shared. "Come back safe, my loves!" Emma was indulging in a steamy make-out session with Killian. Joe and Chloe were sharing a chaste, but long, kiss. "Will I get another one when I get back?" he asked. "You can have another one now!" she responded, before kissing his lips softly. Once they had finished, Joe hugged Mac. "Look after Chloe for me, please." "Of course I shall look after my future daughter-in-law! Now come back alive!" Troia and Arsenal were going in different vehicles, so shared their own romantic farewell. Regina and Robin were going together, but as a newly engaged couple could be forgiven a couple of long kisses, particularly as she was still seeking comfort.

The leader of their captors approached the three bound teenagers. "Any last words before we prepare you for your unpleasant demises?" he laughed cruelly.

"You won't get away with this!" Ava supplied.

"We shall see about that! You see that conveyor belt over there? We use it to put bulk items on headed for the blast furnace at the other end. Today it shall carry three snoops to certain doom!

"Gag them and carry them to the conveyor belt!"

"Wait! Before you gag us, can we say our goodbyes?" Henry pleaded. He turned to Ava and kissed her deeply. "If this is the end, we go together. As my granddad would say, whatever happens, I'll find you. I'll always find you! I love you, Ava!"

His girlfriend was almost in tears. "I love you too! I know you will always find me!" She then leaned over Henry as best she could with her wrists and ankles bound and pecked Athena on the cheek. "Goodbye Athena. See you in the afterlife!"

Athena returned the peck and exchanged ones with Henry. "Goodbye!"

After Henry and Ava had shared another long kiss and some tearful goodbyes, the three teens were gagged with duct tape, before being bodily lifted and carried to the conveyor belt. "Put that blonde tiger cat on last, so she can see her boyfriend and the other girl fall into the furnace." He gave that laugh again. "Set the conveyor belt to the slowest setting. It is long, so they should get a couple of extra minutes to feel the heat."

Placed at the far end of the slowly-moving conveyor belt, the helpless trio were moving inexorably towards the furnace. Henry was thinking. _Hopefully, help should get here soon! I used my watch to send that signal some time ago. Wait! I can reach the button for the watch's buzz saw! If I can use it to get my hands free, I can use the laser to cut the rope binding my legs and then free the others. All I need is a distraction…_

It was at that moment that the roof was literally torn off. Superman threw the roof down into the factory. A few people may have been hurt by the debris. They were trying to dispose of his niece and her friends. For once, he didn't care. Hurt Athena at your own risk!

"Excuse me," he announced with faux politeness, "That brunette girl is my niece by marriage!"

"Her blonde friend didn't say _you_ were the uncle she threatened us with!" the leader grumbled.

Superman smiled thinly as the Invisible Jet carrying Wonder Woman and Troia came into view. "Darling, these people have your niece tied up on a conveyor belt heading towards a blast furnace. What do you intend?"

"Why, cause these villains as much pain as possible, my love!" Wonder Woman replied. She set the Jet to auto-pilot and she and Troia have jumped, half glided into the factory. The SHIELD Jumper uncloaked and landed, as Catwoman dropped a rope ladder from the Batplane. Mac's faux-vintage green Jet Air Car also landed, with Emma, Sam and Joe disembarking. Batman and Nightwing climbed down the rope ladder, as the Jumper's ramp descended. Robin, Hawkeye and Arsenal provided volley upon volley of arrows, as Regina, Captain America and the Black Widow ran into the fray. Finally, the Tardis materialised and Hippolyta, the three mages and the Doctor emerged.

 _Way to go, everyone!_ Henry thought. He pressed the button to activate the watch's buzz saw and quickly cut through his wrist bonds, before taking it off and using the laser cutter to slice through the rope around his ankles. Seeing the furnace slowly but surely drawing closer, he used the laser to cut Athena's arms and legs free, before doing the same to Ava's on his other side. As the girls rubbed their aching limbs, Henry refastened his watch around his wrist. The three joined hands and jumped clear. They then peeled the tape away from their mouths. Free!

Normally, Wonder Woman and Troia, like most of the gathered heroes, tried to avoid killing. They were, however, using their swords and shields to lethal effect. Hippolyta was decapitating one foe, whilst Wednesday was disembowelling another with a conjured sword. Regina and Emma were using fireballs to burn alive several opponents at a time. Those who weren't being transfixed by arrows were falling to Joe's, Sam's and the Black Widow's automatics. Captain America was charging through the opposition, battering them with fists, feet and shield. Batman and Nightwing were displaying their impressive range of martial arts skills. Harry was firing blasting and killing curses with precision. Zee was speaking backwards and causing computer cables to throttle fighters, people to drop straight through the floor into the cave below and any other havoc she could think of. The Doctor was busy yelling at a computer, trying to get it to reveal its secrets without resorting to sonic devices.

Ava saw that the leader was heading for an exit tunnel. He had just been told that the monitoring devices in the underwater parts of the cave systems had picked up Aquaman leading a party of Atlanteans, plus sharks, killer whales, dolphins and any other marine life he could telepathically ask for assistance from. Everything was going to hell in a handcart! He needed to escape – fast!

The plucky tomboy launched herself at the fleeing criminal. As he felt her foot collide with his back, he turned and saw the three teenagers. "How did you…? Never mind!"

He grabbed Ava's arm and pointed the gun at her head. "Now I have a hostage! Let me depart in peace!"

Henry appeared to scratch his left forearm, whilst really adjusting his watch's flashlight to full beam. "OK!" he said raising his arms, before triggering the light directly into their foe's eyes. Ava was being held out of the direct line of the blinding light. Athena rushed over and prised Ava out of the still disoriented bad guy. By the time he could see properly, it was just in time for a flying tiara to knock his gun out of his hand and for Superman to fly up and lift him bodily off the ground. He dropped him down by Regina and Hippolyta.

The former Evil Queen turned to the Queen of the Amazons. "Be my guest!"

"Thank you, but let's do it together!"

They both reached a hand into his chest and pulled out his heart between them.

"Slowly, Hippolyta?"

"Slowly, Regina!"

The two queens slowly crushed the enemy leader's heart to dust. He yelled in pain, before collapsing dead to the floor like a marionette whose strings had been cut.

"Honour is satisfied!" Regina pronounced.

"Not yet, my friend!" Hippolyta took her sword and cut the corpse into several pieces. "Now it is!"

"A woman after my own heart!" Regina purred.

"You could have just e-mailed him with the Caps Lock on," the Doctor suggested.

"We can't interrogate him now!" Batman complained.

"Oops?!" Regina offered.

By this time, the factory and the caves beneath resembled a killing field. Whilst the attackers had sustained only minor injuries, the villains had been reduced to a small fraction of their previous size. "Well, I guess there are still some left to lasso!" Wonder Woman commented.

"It's probably best if you do any interrogation, Wonder Woman," the Doctor agreed. "It's less likely to end in "Oops"!"

Henry was hugging his Moms. "I'm glad this watch works!" he commented.

"You'll probably need to recharge the battery if you keep using the laser and the torch functions," Joe commented.

"Now, young man, the three of you have some explaining to do," Regina informed Henry.

"No, I do!" Ava announced. "I dragged them into this. Without Henry, I would be dead. Don't punish him and Athena for my stupidity, Ms Mills, Queen Hippolyta, please?"

"We could have said no!" Henry admonished her.

"What he said!" Athena agreed.

"Actually, we suspected Ava was the instigator. If anything, Henry, you showed admirable speed of thought. I am proud of you. Besides I am in a good mood." Regina went over to Robin and showed Henry her engagement ring.

"Cool! Congratulations, both of you! Does this mean I can call him "Dad" now?"


	5. Chapter 5: Safe and Sound!

Henry, Ava and Athena were embraced warmly by their friends once they were safely back on board the _Nike_. Chloe did give Joe his kiss.

Regina smiled at the other rescuers. "Thank you for your help. We are truly grateful. If anything had happened to Henry…" She trailed off, unwilling to think of her life without her adopted son. Both Henry and Robin held her tightly. Perhaps that curse had made one last attempt to derail her attempts at happiness. Well, safe in her fiancé's arms, she was damned if she was going to lose her Happily Ever After this time!

"Shouldn't we have an engagement party?" Killian asked. "Plenty of rum for everyone!"

Emma raised an eyebrow. _"Seriously…?"_

"What's wrong, Swan? You can hold your alcohol!"

"Firstly, many of this boat's occupants are underage. Secondly, most of the Storybrooke folk are in, well, Storybrooke."

"I can help you with that, Ms Swan!" the Doctor announced from behind her. "I can pick up any other friends whilst I'm at it!"

He entered the Tardis and called "Ms Swan!" A hesitant Emma followed, once she had given Killian a goodbye kiss. Batman may be a grouch, but at least he seemed more or less sane! After she entered, the doors closed and the familiar whining and groaning noise sounded as the Tardis dematerialised.

Inside the Tardis, Emma looked around at the advanced technology, bookshelves and chalkboards that surrounded her. "Storybrooke, first," she announced, "then Detroit. Do you know where Modesty lives?"

"A luxurious pent house near London's Hyde Park. Willie lives in a pub, _The Treadmill_ , just outside Maidenhead, near Windsor."

Mary Margaret and David were just about to take Neal off to bed when a blue box appeared in their living room. _"Really…?"_ sighed Mary Margaret, raising her eyebrow.

Emma came out. "What a day!" she muttered.

"Is everyone OK?" David asked anxiously.

"Ava decided to lead Athena and Henry on an adventure, they all got caught by our band of wreckers and nearly ended up in an incinerator. In short, a normal day!

"While they are OK, Regina and Robin have just got engaged. I'm here to take you to the Caribbean, as well as a few other Storybrooke people."

"In that?" Mary Margaret clarified. Emma motioned the Charmings to go inside. From the _"Really…?"_ she overheard her mother ask, she guessed they were as stunned as she was.

The engagement party was taking place in the _Nike_ 's dining room. With the galley having an entrance directly into it, it was laid out with a number of tables. Those farthest from the galley had been moved to hold the buffet Granny Lucas had cooked back at her Diner and reheated if necessary in the galley. This left a small area for dancing. Paul Reid, the current Green Hornet, was a concert pianist in his civilian identity and was playing a selection of light classics on the baby grand in one corner. Henry recognised Rachmaninov's Prelude in C Sharp Minor. It was supposed to be one of the hardest pieces in the repertoire, but Paul was a professional and seemed to have no difficulty whatsoever.

Chloe was kissing Joe when she saw Modesty Blaise and Willie Garvin approach them.

"Joe-love," Modesty began, "Congratulations on finding your first girlfriend!

"Now, young lady," she continued, "Hurt him and Willie and I will be wanting a word with you. Do you understand me?"

Chloe grinned. "I won't!" she assured them.

Joe sighed. "I can handle myself, Aunt Modesty!"

"We know that, matey!" Willie said. "You are, however, a good friend and we don't want you to get your heart broken."

"Breaking up with him would break my heart too," Chloe assured them.

"She seems serious, Princess," Willie noted.

"She does indeed, Willie-love."

"I think they like you, Chloe!"

Captain Jack Harkness was talking to the Doctor when he spotted David and Mary Margaret walk past.

"Excuse me," he said to them, "I've always wanted to find out how _charming_ you both _really_ are."

 _"_ _Seriously…?"_ Mary Margaret sighed. "Look, Jack, David isn't bisexual. Also, having slept with Dr Whale, I have decided serial seducers are not my type!"

"How do you know he's not bisexual? Has he ever tried?"

Seeing that neither Charming was impressed with his argument, he turned back to the Doctor, who was mysteriously suffering from a coughing fit.

Diana was sat at a table with her husband and wife. "Lois, you seem a little off tonight. Is something the matter?"

"Nothing wrong, Diana," Lois replied, "Although I doubt I shall be saying that to Clark in about nine months' time!"

"You are pregnant?" Clark wanted to confirm.

"No, Smallville, I'm suffering from Spring Fever in early August! Of course I'm pregnant, idiot! I was feeling a little sick earlier, so asked Mac to give me a quick health check. When I mentioned I felt nauseous, he suggested I may be expecting. Luckily, there are pregnancy testing kits aboard, which considering the ages of quite a few of our fellow crewmembers is rather worrying.

"So, how are you both feeling about being called "Mom" and "Dad"?"

"Step-Mom or Auntie, surely?" Diana asked.

"Themyscira, all _my_ children and all _your_ children will call _both of us_ "Mom". They can always add our given names if they need to distinguish between us."

"Mommy Diana. I like the sound of that!"

"We had better tell Lucy, Mother and Ma and Pa," Clark pointed out. "Plus Kara, Donna, Drusilla, Athena, Roy, Cassie, Jimmy, Perry, Steve…"

"Tell us what?" Donna asked, as she and Roy were going past en route for the buffet.

"Lois is expecting!"

"Congratulations!" Donna announced, hugging her sister-in-law. "When are you due?"

"Sometime in Late-April."

Hippolyta and Athena were delighted to hear the news. Since all of Diana's family adored Clark and Lois, any child of theirs was considered to be effectively Diana's. Lucy Lane and Jonathan and Martha Kent were also overjoyed, as were the current Wonder Girl Cassie Sandsmark, Steve Trevor at IADC and Perry White and Jimmy Olsen at the Daily Planet.

"I suppose that stole your thunder a bit, Regina!" Emma commented to her friend.

"A pregnancy is always to be celebrated, Swan! Diana has been of tremendous help on three of the darkest days in Storybrooke's recent history. Learning her wife is expecting their first child is good news indeed!"

"What do we do about Ava? I know Henry and Athena aren't entirely blameless, but…"

"I believe her father is currently giving her and Nicholas a stern lecture about some of their recent behaviour. Other than that, I don't intend to do anything further, Emma. Nearly being cremated while still alive is a punishment in itself!

"Besides, I want Henry to marry a strong woman. Ava is definitely that!"

Batman, Catwoman and Nightwing were wearing their usual costumes with dinner or a lady's jacket. "You do realise," Catwoman grumbled, "that everyone not from Storybrooke already knows who we all are."

"And who are the Storybrooke people likely to tell?" Nightwing agreed.

"What they don't know, they can't tell!" Batman insisted.

He saw both his life-partner and his eldest adopted son were rolling their eyes at him. _Why does everyone think that I'm a paranoid grouch?_

"Your father wasn't too mad at you, was he?" Henry asked Ava.

"Actually, your Moms seem to have persuaded him that I don't need him to punish me. Those bad guys…"

"Were completely incompetent!" Joe interrupted. "Leaving a door not only unlocked and unguarded, but actually open?! Ava, people who use poison gas and deliberately wreck ships are not the people Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys went after. Amateurs are good against jewel and art thieves, not wreckers!"

Ava nodded. "Thanks, Joe! After that witch and now the wreckers, I'm kind of tired of villains wanting to roast me alive! Do you know of any burglaries I could help with?"

Henry groaned. "I'll stick to sunbathing, thanks!"

"Me too!" Athena agreed. "When I said I wanted to top up my tan, an incinerator wasn't what I had in mind! I'll stay on the _Nike_ from now on, thank you."

"What?" Joe asked bemused. "You don't want to visit the museum at the Queen's Park Oval? It's a shame the cricket season here ends in March or April time. There might be a bowling machine in the nets…"

He looked around. Chloe was the only one still near him. "Where did they all go?"

Chloe perched herself on his lap and threw her arms around him. "Well, Joe, now they are gone, there is just you and me. Why are you using your lips for _talking_ and not _kissing_?"

He got the hint. After a few kisses, he led her to the dance floor, where they spent a couple of hours very happily.

Seeing Wednesday, Zee and Harry sitting at a table, Ava walked up to them. "Goth Lady and her magic friends! A regular coven!"

"Actually, three is rather small for a regular coven!" Harry pointed out.

"Do you have any clothes in lighter shades, Goth Lady?"

"No, Fairy Tale Girl. I was rocking the Goth Look long before it was fashionable."

"Yes, she was," Zee agreed. "She was exactly the same when my father knew her thirty years ago!"

"You age well, Goth Lady! You don't look a day over thirty!"

"Thank you, I'm 57! Both Harry and Zee are in their mid-thirties!"

"If only our world's witches looked as good!"

"Acted as good, too," Harry noted, "from what I hear. Regina's pretty enough." He saw everyone turn to stare at him. "I'm happily married, not blind!"

The party had ended. Luckily, the Doctor was able to accommodate the extra guests in the TARDIS. Well, not luckily, but he gave an explanation that no-one bar Jack came close to understanding. "You know, I used to call myself "a madman with a box". I guess it used to fit," he told Emma.

 _"_ _Seriously…?"_ she asked. "What changed?"

"My face, my hair, my build, my kidneys…"

"Sorry I asked!"

"You and matey-boy don't want to travel with me? I need someone to hit me when I say something insensitive."

"Well, I can see that as being a full-time occupation…"

Regina was cuddling up to Robin in the berth in their cabin. "I am happy. _Really happy_! Normally, something goes wrong at this point. That curse…"

"Today could have gone _very badly_ wrong, but it didn't," Robin assured her. "Now, I'm ready for a more private celebration of our engagement…"

"So am I," Regina assured him. "I would love to give Henry a brother or sister…"

His mouth clamped down on hers.

Regina, Hippolyta, Sam, Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Hawkeye, Captain America and the Black Widow all entered the SHIELD base where the survivors (a pitiful remnant) of the wreckers were being held. "We could do with no "Oops" moment this time," Cap reminded the first two.

" _Da_ , that would cause too much paperwork!" Natasha quipped.

"That I can understand!" Regina retorted.

One of the captives was brought out, heavily ironed. He saw Regina and Hippolyta and groaned. "Not those two psychotic bitches!"

"Nice to be appreciated! We generally don't like people who try to flame-grill her granddaughter and my son and his girlfriend. Now, her daughter is going to use her lasso on you and, if we like your answers, we don't kill you. Do we have a deal?"

He nodded. Wonder Woman lassoed him.

"Who are you?"

"We are the Society of Wreckers," the man boasted.

"So your acronym's a female pig?" Regina clarified. "And I thought THRUSH was bad!"

"You may scoff. We were a sub-contract operation. A few more weeks and we would have received our commission plus the blackmail money. If only our late leader hadn't been an incompetent fool…"

"Commissioned by whom?" Sam asked.

"We don't know. It was through such a complex chain of intermediaries. If you could find anything from what is on our computers, be my guest!

"Now I know nothing more. Can I go back to my holding cell now?"

Wonder Woman removed her lariat and he was led away.

"Top IT specialists from a number of agencies are looking into the matter. Take it from me, if it can be traced, it will be." Sam turned to the others. "I don't think the prisoners know that much."

Back on the _Nike_ , Ava was approaching the pool area, clad in a bikini and sarong. Henry was on their usual sun-lounger. Athena, Grace and Sappho were also sun-bathing, the latter two kissing passionately. Joe and Chloe were in the pool, swimming a few lengths. Every couple of minutes, they would meet up to share a quick kiss.

Ava shed her sarong and lay down beside Henry. "You know, Henry, I haven't thanked you properly for saving my life yesterday." She then wrapped her arms around him and kissed him very thoroughly indeed.

"I'm looking forward to our date later," Henry commented. He paused and turned to Emma, who was also taking the opportunity to top up her tan in a bikini. "We are still going?"

"As long as you agree not to go anywhere without adult supervision, yes," Emma agreed.

The Doctor emerged from the control room. "Are the others staying or do they need me to take them back now?"

"We can take the Batplane back from where it is parked at the SHIELD base," Nightwing told him, still in full costume. "I believe the SHIELD team are staying in the area, so Natasha and Clint may join you by or in the pool. Paul has some concerts coming up, so he will want to head back shortly. Kono Kato said he would like to give you another self-defence class first. The one about not getting into a tight spot deliberately, I believe. I assume Harry, Modesty, Willie and Jack will want to go back home and I can't see you staying for long, Doctor."

"I'm staying for longer, _mon vieux_ , as is Zee here," Wednesday came out in a jet black one-piece, with Zee following in an equally black bikini. "There's a spare bunked suite we can share."

"Goth Lady," Ava said, "You even sunbathe in black!"

"Yes, it is very slimming, Fairy Tale Girl!"

Emma snorted. "As if either of you needed it!"

"Thank you!" Zee said.

"Well, we had better get back to Storybrooke!" David decided. "We'll wait until Regina gets back."

When the group returned from the SHIELD base, Diana and Clark went to kiss their bikini-clad wife. The Doctor took the Storybrooke contingent, Paul, Kono, Harry, Modesty, Willie and Jack back to their respective homes in the Tardis. Batman, Catwoman and Nightwing took the Batplane back to Gotham City. Aquaman had already taken his battalion back to Atlantis.

"Now we can get back to sunbathing, swimming and shore-visiting," Emma said.

A couple of hours later, they were all in the same Diner as they were the previous day. Regina and Robin were seated at the same table as Ava, Athena and Henry.

Athena sighed as she saw both couples furiously kissing. A couple of tables down, Sappho and Grace were lip-locked, as were Emma and Killian. Joe and Chloe were talking nineteen to the dozen about something, punctuated with soft kisses. Only Nicholas was single (with Zee and Wednesday still aboard the _Nike_ ) and, well, she preferred men who didn't act like a hybrid between a stallion and an octopus! If only more men were like Henry…

"What are you musing about?" Ava asked.

"Just wandering when I will meet my True Love, that's all."

"They come when you are least expecting them, Athena," Regina told her. "You will make one boy or girl very happy one day.

"Where are we going now?"

"To see this cricket ground," Ava grumbled. "I think Joe is obsessed with this game!"

"It's not a game, Ava," Joe protested. "It is a religion! The eighth Earl of Asherton told me that!"


	6. Epilogue: Arms of the Octopus

Daisy Johnson looked up from her laptop. "I've found something, AC!"

SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson rolled his eyes. "Don't call me that, Skye, sorry, Daisy. What have you got for me?"

"Our Society of Wreckers work for some guys with a fetish about octopi, by the looks of things. All I get from the origins of the relevant payments is this logo. Doctor Octopus, perhaps?"

Phil looked down at the screen. "SPECTRE!"

"What?"

"The Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. An organisation that provides funding and high-end tactical, personnel and logistic support for a number of criminal and terrorist groups. They were founded just after World War II by Ernst Stavro Blofeld, a descendant of whom is believed to currently run the outfit. Given that Blofeld was said to be an ennui sufferer with a general disinterest in sex, he seems to have managed a fair number of children. Mind you, when you consider the number of off-spring Sherlock Holmes has fathered…"

Natasha and Clint were sunbathing on the _Nike_ when the call came through. "SPECTRE were hiring those idiots!" the latter announced. He sighed. "Knowing the Blofeld family that have regularly run SPECTRE, I can see them going after you all. The R is for Revenge, you know."

"Uncle James has told me a lot about his battles with SPECTRE," Joe said. "They are a very different proposition to the Society of Wreckers. Whatever you do," he turned to Ava, "Don't go after them. They will kill you!"

"Don't worry, Joe. I've learnt my lesson. If I get a desire for adventure, ask you to tag along! The thought of what would have happened to Henry and Athena, if you hadn't given him that watch…"

"And you!" Henry reminded her.

"And me!" She got down on one knee. "I know you should really be doing this Henry, and we will have to wait for the ring, but here goes. Henry Daniel Mills, will you marry me?"

"Yes, of course!"

A couple of weeks later: Storybrooke, Maine

The _Nike_ docked in Storybrooke Harbour. A boat had taken David out with the Scroll, so they could enter Storybrooke.

"Well, it is good to be back home!" Nicholas sighed.

"What will they do with the _Nike_?" Regina asked.

"They are building a boat house for her in Culver Bay," Joe said. "The W.I.N. are planning on using her again. You may be asked for further assistance in the future. Even Ava!"

"Looking forward to going home?" Ava asked Athena.

"It will be nice to get a _proper_ tan again!"

"Dad," Grace said after they has disembarked, "this is Sappho, my One True Love."

"Welcome, my dear," the former Mad Hatter told Sappho. "Come and stay with us for a few days."

"Of course. I want to get to know my future father-in-law!"

"It's always good to spend time together, Hippolyta," Regina told her friend. "We must use that portal to meet up more."

"Indeed!"

They embraced.

"I want you to be my matron of honour in a few months!"

"Of course. Come to Themyscira for your bachelorette party.

"Come, Athena!"

Athena hugged Joe and Grace before turning to Ava and Henry. "Thank you again for your quick-thinking, Henry. When we were bound and gagged on that conveyor belt, I thought we were finished. If you hadn't used that watch…" She shivered. Henry and Ava pulled her into a tight embrace.

Once their hug had finished, Athena pecked first Henry and then Ava on the cheek. "I'll be using the portal to visit as often as I can before school starts for you again. I'll talk to Grandmother about asking the six goddesses if Henry can have right of access to Themyscira. Ava, you are always welcome to visit me at the palace."

"Thank you," Ava replied. "It would be great to be treated like a princess!"

Nicholas came up.

"Princess Athena, I apologise for my attempts at flirting."

To his surprise, Athena hugged him briefly. "I may not _like you_ like you, but I do like you! Friends?"

"Friends!"

With a few more farewells, the Themyscira contingent returned through the portal, with the exception of Diana and Donna who were taking the Invisible Jet, Sappho who was staying with the Jeffersons and Chloe who was going to stay in Culver Bay with the McClaines.

Joe and Chloe hugged their friends' goodbye. "See you soon."

"Via Skype, if nothing else!" Henry agreed.

"Actually, Queen Hippolyta plans to install a portal to Culver Bay," Chloe commented. "Since Joe is also a candidate for right of access, he might be able to visit more often."

Joe helped Chloe into the _Nike_. "Home, Dad?"

"Home, Joe!"

The yacht set sail for the Jurassic Coast.

After their own farewells, Diana, Clark, Lois, Roy and Donna boarded the Invisible Jet. It took over, heading back for Metropolis.

"It'll be good to get back home," Clark commented. "Are you OK, Lois?"

"I'm pregnant, Smallville, not an invalid!"

Once Wednesday and Zee had apparated back to their homes, Storybrooke was back to normal. As far as it could be normal, anyway.

The Swiss Alps

"If the Society of Wreckers' leader was not an incompetent fool, Number One, we would have had a major success on our hands. That attempt to kill those three snoops from Themyscira and Storybrooke was straight out of the lawyer Sneekly's handbook."

"Yes, or Sexton Blake's foes," the large, bloated figure behind the desk agreed. He was stroking an exotic Persian cat. "It seems, Number Four, that another of our schemes has failed. It is one thing to be foiled by Commander Bond, John Steed, Derek Flint and their like, but three teenagers is a disaster. Whilst we would have had to terminate with extreme prejudice that oaf in due course, SPECTRE have been made to look incompetent as he! I hear SHIELD have identified us as ultimately responsible.

"We need to avenge ourselves. Put out a contract of twenty million pounds sterling for causing the deaths of Regina Mills and Queen Hippolyta."

"Not the children, Number One?"

"If they die in the process, all the better, but no. Those two killed our pawn in a way that may scare potential others away. Besides, Themyscira and Storybrooke are the real targets of our revenge."

"You do know who Hippolyta's daughters are? Who her son-in-law is? Who her friends are? Do you want the IADC, the W.I.N., SHIELD, the White Council, Torchwood and goodness only knows who else coming after us?"

"No, Number Four, I don't. I don't want to face an angry Wonder Woman, Troia or Superman either. The rules of the game, however, are simple. If we potentially lose face, then the enemy leaders must perish."

"Is twenty million enough, Number One?"

"You raise another good point, Number Four. Make if fifteen million pounds each, with a five million pound bonus on top of the combined thirty million for killing both. Alternatively, if a SPECTRE agent captures or kills either or both women, he or she gets the same amounts as a bonus.

"Actually, I hope one of us does capture the women. We can show them what a _real death trap_ is like!"

"Great idea, Number One. There are suggestions of a secret joint Storybrooke and Amazon royal visit to London coming up. We could learn more details and arrange an abduction. Do you want their demises long or slow?"

" _Agonising, Number Four!_ "

To be continued.

Author's note

A further thank you to Model Builder, particularly for suggesting the "roast me alive" line in chapter 5.


End file.
